Lake Superior State University, which each year documents a "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness," announced its latest list of abused words from 2017 included real over-used terms such as "fake news" as well as new inventions including the president's "covfefe."
"We've drilled down and unpacked tons of pre-owned words and phrases deemed impactful by hundreds of nominators during 2017," the school said in its announcement. "Let that sink in."
"Unpack - Misused word for analyze, consider, assess. Concepts or positions are not packed, so they don't need to be unpacked.
Tons - Refers to an exaggerated quantity, as in tons of sunshine or tons of work. 'Lots' would surely suffice.
Dish - As in to dish out the latest rumor on someone. Let's go back to 'talks about' and leave dishes in the cupboard.
Pre-owned - What is so disgraceful about owning a used car now and then?
Onboarding / Offboarding - Creature from the HR Lagoon. We used to have hiring, training and orientation. Now we need to have an 'onboarding' process. Firings, quitting, and retirements are streamlined into 'offboarding.'
Nothingburger - Says nothing that 'nothing' doesn't already. I'll take a quarter-pound of something in mine.
Let that sink in - One could say shocking, profound, or important. Let that sink in.
Let me ask you this - Wholly unnecessary statement. Just ask the question already.
Impactful - A frivolous word groping for something 'effective' or 'influential.'
Covfefe - An impulsive typo, born into a 140-character universe, somehow missed by the autocorrect feature.
Drill Down - Instead of expanding on a statement, we 'drill down on it.'
Fake News - Once upon a time stories could be empirically disproved. Now 'fake news' is any story you disagree with.
Hot Water Heater - Hot water does not need to be heated. 'Water heater' or 'hot water maker' will keep us out of hot water.
Gig Economy - Gigs are for musicians and stand-up comedians. Now expanded to imply a sense of freedom and a lifestyle that rejects tradition in a changing economic culture. Runs a risk of sharecropping."
